Little Walsingham

• 28 Jan, 2015
• 5 likes

This photograph is for Amy as I promised to show her a panting I had done about 26 years ago of little Walsingham in Norfolk. For those who do not know the villages I have added a little information.
Walsingham was one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the world and a rival to even Rome! That changed after the reformation, but a revival during the 19th century has put Walsingham back on the pilgrimage map and thousands now visit here each year, especially at Easter time. Walsingham is actually 2 villages about a mile apart - Little Walsingham is where the main attractions are located, with Great Walsingham located about a mile away and is much smaller, but still worth a visit. In the year 1061, Lady Richeldis, owner of Walsingham manor, had a vision in which she was taken by Mary and shown the house in Nazareth where Gabriel had announced the news of the birth of Jesus. Mary asked her to build a replica of the house in Walsingham. It was a simple wooden structure and some years later, a priory was built around the house. This became a place of pilgrimage - England's Nazareth - even drawing Kings, unfortunately including Henry VIII, who brought about its destruction in 1538. The priory was wrecked and the Walsingham Madonna was taken to London and burned. Walsingham remained in ruins for almost 300 years, but the 19th century saw the restoration of Walsingham and in 1897, there was a Roman Catholic pilgrimage to the restored 14th century Slipper Chapel, now at the centre of the Roman Catholic National Shrine. A replica of Lady Richeldis's shrine was built in 1931 and daily mass is now held to the many visitors that flock here. The village itself has some lovely old medieval streets containing interesting shops. There is also a museum containing a courthouse from the times of George III. The main attractions however are the religious sites and the remains the priory.